If impeached, Mark Fuller would be 12th federal judge removed from bench in 211 years

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – If Congress impeaches federal judge Mark Fuller following last month's domestic violence arrest, he will become only the 12th judge in U.S. history to be removed in that fashion and the first from Alabama.

Fuller, like other district and circuit appeals judges and Supreme Court justices, was appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Once appointed, those judges can serve on the bench the remainder of their lives, unless they voluntarily resign or if the U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach, followed by a conviction in the U.S. Senate.

Of the 3,522 federal judges that have served around the nation since 1789, the impeachment process has been used only 15 times -- and only five times in the past 78 years, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

But of those 15 judges who were impeached by the U.S. House, four of them were later acquitted during the trial before the U.S. Senate and kept their jobs. Of the 11 others who were impeached, three resigned before the Senate trial.

The U.S. House of Representatives have impeached judges for various reasons, including bribery, intoxication on the bench, mental instability, and perjury. But none of those judges have been impeached resulting from charges of domestic violence.

Fuller was charged Aug. 9 with misdemeanor battery after his wife called police to their hotel room in Atlanta. She had cuts to her head when she reported to police that her husband was drunk and beat her after she accused him of having an affair with a law clerk.

Fuller has agreed to participate in a alcohol evaluation program and a 24-week domestic violence treatment program as part of a deal with Atlanta prosecutors that would have his arrest expunged.

Fuller's attorney, Barry Ragsdale, declined to comment on the calls for Fuller's resignation. He said that they are continuing to work through a disciplinary process with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. That process could result in a reprimand or referral for impeachment.

One of the last judges to be impeached was Samuel B. Kent, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

He was impeached by the U.S. House on June 19, 2009, on charges of sexual assault, obstructing and impeding an official proceeding, and making false and misleading statements, according to the Federal Judicial Center. He resigned 11 days later.

The first judge removed by impeachment, according to the Federal Judicial Center was John Pickering, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

Pickering was impeached on March 2, 1803 by the U.S. House on charges of mental instability and intoxication on the bench. He was convicted on the impeachment charge by the U.S. Senate and removed from office on March 12, 1804, according to the center.